More And More People Are Betting On An Italian Default

Credit default swaps for Italy are surging, Der Spiegel reports.Citing figures from the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp, the German publication notes that the country has the highest gross CDS volume at $306 billion, ahead of Brazil ($179 billion) and Spain ($176 billion).

The New York Times reports that the spreads for Italy and Spain are now at their worst for a year.

European Union President Herman Van Rompuy has hit back at the market view.

“The current assessment of risks by the markets” is “completely separate from the basic parameters, and it is somewhat ludicrous that those countries in the rankings for credit-default swaps are classified in the category of countries with the highest default risk,” he wrote in a column for Belgian paper De Tijd.